Follow this path (it leads to my heart)
by The Plot Bunny Whisperer
Summary: Some people spend all their lives following their Fate Strings to their destined other half. Marinette never imagined falling from the sky and becoming entangled with her fated match in a different kind of string all together.


**Follow this path (it leads to my heart)**

—•—

There were few things in the world that could be absolutely relied upon. The sun would always shine, even when hidden by the clouds. The moon would always rise, even if you couldn't see it. The stars would always be brilliant, even when masked by the bright lights of a city.

And always, _always_ , you would one day have a String of Fate tied around your finger, if you didn't have one already.

The Fate Strings, as they were called, appeared the instant a soulmate pair was born, an ethereal strand that could be seen but not felt. Sometimes, the String is there upon birth; other times, it could be weeks, months, or years before it appeared. It always would, however, no matter how long you had to wait. Once it was there, tied around your left ring finger and reaching out into the distance to lead you to your fated partner – in whatever form that ended up being – it was there for life, even if one of the two should pass on.

The String itself was different for everyone. They could be a dazzling array of colors, or a simple solitary hue. They could shimmer, or sparkle, or glow, or be plain. Only a soulmate pair could ever see the String tied around the other's finger, even if each saw something different, because each would only see the color(s) or pattern or light that represented who their soulmate was. It was something unique and only for them to share.

Some people spend all their lives following their Fate Strings to their destined other half. Some prefer to ignore theirs existed. Some follow theirs only to find the tattered ends where their soulmate once was. Some never have to follow them at all, because by chance or by purpose, their soulmate comes to them.

Marinette's String appeared when she was four months old, not that she remembered. As far as she was concerned, it had always been there, a soothing reminder that even on the darkest nights, during the loudest storms, she wasn't alone. (Marinette's parents could tell you different, however, because they had photographic proof of the day it appeared. They may not have been able to see their daughter's String, but what other reason would she have had for the surprised noise she had made and the comical look on her face as she tried to grasp tiny, chubby fingers around something that wasn't there?)

Marinette _loved_ her Fate String, but she told very few people what it truly looked like. There was a time when she proudly described it to anyone who asked, but after so many times of people looking at her with pity, of having to hear so many times how her soulmate must be some sort of troublemaker, of being teased by other children and listening to their cruel remarks, she eventually fell silent about it – but no less proud.

She knew better, after all; what did it matter what anyone else thought? They couldn't understand how truly beautiful her soulmate must be for his or her soul to shine so softly on her finger, a soothing glow to chase away the dark. So when asked, instead of saying it was a shimmering black that glinted green in the light and glowed the same color in the dark, she simply said that it was green and it glowed. To her, her soulmate's soul was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, and nothing would ever change her opinion.

Growing up, Marinette always dreamed of one day following her String and of who would be at the other end. She imagined a beautiful, kind, amazing stranger who was never really a stranger at all. Of falling in love with them at first sight, of knowing instantly that they would be together for the rest of their lives, be there for each other no matter what. She wanted what her parents had – that instant connection, the spark of love and hope and _finally, this is the one_.

Of course, she would be equally happy to be forever best friends. Sometimes it happened like that, after all. Sometimes you came across your soulmate and they were already married or you were related or there was too big of an age difference to ignore. Sometimes you found that you just weren't compatible romantically, or you just weren't attracted to them in that way, and that was okay too. She just desperately wanted to meet them one day, and be in their life in whatever way she could be.

She imagined many different ways she would meet her soulmate. Maybe she would follow her String and she would meet them in some distant place where they lived, or maybe her fated match would follow theirs and one day approach her wherever she was. Maybe they would pass randomly as she wandered the streets of Paris, or in a shop, or at school, or at work, or any place in any number of ways.

She never expected meeting her soulmate because a small, magical fairy-god granted her the power to become a super heroine. She never imagined that she would come crashing down on top of them from the sky because she couldn't yet control her magical yoyo, entangling them in a different kind of string altogether.

Chat Noir was certainly nothing like she imagined her soulmate would be. He was flirtatious, and made awful puns, and leapt without thinking. But all the same, she couldn't help but be charmed by his bravery and resilience and (utterly _paw_ ful) humor despite it.

So, no, she may not have gotten that instant spark she always dreamed about, the love at first sight that swept her parents away. She got something better: a partner, someone she could depend on to always have her back.

In that way, he was exactly how she had always imagined her soulmate would be.

—

(The day after she had met the silly cat who was to be her partner in more ways than one, she couldn't help but follow the path of her Fate String with astonished eyes as it led across the street into her school, through the halls, and even further still into her own classroom. Her eyes trailed along the luminescent strand, swaying like the gentle flicking of a cat's tail, all the way until the end where it was tied to a single long, pale finger. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, and she could feel her cheeks begin to warm. The rest of the room seemed to fall away, as though no one else in the world existed.

 _Oh_ , she thought then, her eyes meeting a pair of equally awed bright green. _He's the one_.)


End file.
